Our remanufacturing processes

Each replacement cartridge is an original equipment manufacturer's cartridge that has been recycled, cleaned, inspected and remanufactured utilizing certain components and new parts, then filled with premium toner specifically designed. We follow these next remanufacturing steps.

	Cleaning and replacement of components		Disassembly
	Dumping		Filling
	In closing		Installation
	Outer-housing cleaning		Packaging
	Parts acquisition		Post-testing
	Preparing facility		Pre-testing
	Quality control		Reassembly
	Screening cartridges		Sealing

Quality Control
Our cartridges are remanufactured according to quality norms that meet those of the original cartridges. Each of our cartridges is tested on our own printers to verify the printing quality. Our cartridges are guaranteed to 100%. Please read our page Warranty Statement.

Printing more pages
Whereas the manufacturer's cartridges permit you to print lets say 3000 pages because they contain about 75% of their ink capacity, our cartridges containing a lot more ink will allow you to print 4000 pages! We have a proven track record for maintaining the highest standards of quality and services at competitive prices. Our toner cartridges meet or exceed OEM standards. This means you can expect our cartridges to last as long or, usually, longer than a new toner cartridge.

On making each new cartridge
The manufacturing process involved in making a new cartridge requires the burning of fossil fuel, specifically oil or natural gas. On average, three quarts of oil are burned to make each new cartridge shell. Last year 71 million new cartridges were manufactured, but only 1/3 were remanufactured, the rest were thrown away.

Our ecological contribution
As an industry, our ecological contribution is staggering. At our current rate of production, we remanufacture more than 1 million cartridges each year, and keep 1,500 ton of plastic and scrap metal out of landfills. We save taxpayers more than $20,000 each year in landfill expenses. The combined savings realized from landfill costs and oil costs is approximately $0.5 million per year.

Just mention the words Exxon Valdez, 1989, and images of Alaska's Prince William Sound, oil-soaked sea otters struggling to cling to life, dead and dying birds, and frantic hordes of people trying in vain to save the coastline are all to vivid and equally horrifying. In that one environmental death blow, 10.9 million gallons of oil was spilled. It was the worst in the world history and in a matter of hours created a cataclysm for indigenous wildlife that will rock the foundation of life as we know it for centuries to come. The volume of the oil spill was staggering and the negative impact incalculable.

Using that same figure of 10.9 million gallons of oil as a positive, in just seven months of each year, the remanufacturing industry conserves more oil than the 10.9 million gallons that spilled into Prince William Sound.

Laser Corporation is proud to be a part of the remanufacturing industry and we look forward to providing you with quality, environmentally beneficial products.

Components of a laser toner cartridge
In order to help you understand our professional remanufacturing process, we enclose explanation of some components in a laser toner cartridge.

• The toner
  There are several types of toner used for recharging, but the most common type is micro-fine particles of carbon and iron. Most printers are either 300 or 600 DPI (Dots Per Inch). The particles of toner for a 600 DPI printer will be smaller than those in the 300 DPI printer toner. Because there are iron particles in the toner, it can be picked up with a magnet. The first component involved in transporting the toner is the magnetic roller. The toner is stored inside a toner hopper in the cartridge. The opening of the hopper is covered with a magnetic roller that picks up the toner to be transported to the drum. To prevent large uneven heaps of toner from being picked up at one time, the opening between the magnetic roller and the toner hopper is measured off with a component known as the Doctor Blade. With the correct gapping on both sides of the Doctor Blade, just the right amount of toner is allowed to pass through the opening. A gap too narrow will result in too light a print, and a gap too wide will result in either excessive dark printing and leakage.

• The charge assembly
  There are two types of charge assemblies, also referred to as Corona Assemblies. The newer type uses a charge roller, and the older types use a thin wire, not much thicker than a hair. The charge roller or wire is responsible for placing the charge on the drum. In laser printers, the static charge to the drum pulls the toner from the magnetic roller. The laser beam from the printer then hits the drum with an opposite charge, resulting in the image.

• The drum
  The drum is a cylinder with an organic or synthetic photo conductor coating that carries the image, still in powdered toner form, to the paper. Most drums will rotate 3 times to cover a single letter size page. This means that only 1/3 of the image can be placed on the drum at one time.

• The wiper blade
  The wiper blade is a polyurethane strip that rides against the length of the drum and covers the waste bin. As the drum rotates with the 1/3 of a page image on it, and places the image on the paper, some of the toner is still left on the drum and must be cleaned off before the next 1/3 of the image can be placed on the drum. If it is not cleaned off, the first 1/3 of the image will be repeated in a ghost-like background of the second 1/3 of the image, and the second 1/3 of the image will also be repeated in a ghost-like background of the third 1/3 of the image. The wiper blade prevents this from happening. However, the edge of the wiper blade must be precision sharp and smooth. The slightest little nick, scratch, or bow will allow unwanted image to pass through and may result in a ghosted repeated image, scratch marks, or lines on the page. As the wiper blade scrapes the toner from the drum, it drops it into the waste bin. Because the toner in the waste bin has been charged, it can no longer be used.

• The recovery blade
  The opening to the waste bin is lined with the wiper blade on one side and the recovery blade on the other side. The recovery blade is a thin Mylar strip that also rests against the length of the drum. When the cartridge is in operation, the wiper blade will be on top and the recovery blade on the bottom. As the drum rotates and places the image on the page, the remaining image from the print first passes over the recovery blade, then is scraped clean by the wiper blade. The toner falls downward toward the recovery blade, which scoops it into the waste bin or dust bin. If the recovery blade is rippled, bowed, nicked or scratched, or missing, the toner that is scraped from the drum by the wiper blade will fall onto the paper. The amount of damage to the recovery blade will determine the amount of toner that will drop on to the page. It could be anything from light peppered dots to dark heaps or chunks.

Basic laser cartridge remanufacturing procedure
Today's toner technology is far advanced than the 10 years ago procedure of drilling, filling and gluing. Please read about our remanufacturing process, so you will find out about the rigorous procedures our toner cartridges go through.

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